The story of Darth Abyssius- Chapter III
by SWTORfan195
Summary: Darth Abyssius completes his training


CHAPTER III

THE WILL OF THE FORCE

Brugus pledges himself to the order of the Banite Sith, and begins his training under Ramage. The first several months are brutal, and an exhausted Brugus questions whether or not he is capable of completing his training. His resolve over the next few years ultimately triumphs, and he is dubbed Darth Abyssius.

Unfortunately, Darth Abyssius' old master betrays him, and his closest friends and family are brutally slain by an unknown assailant. An unlikely ally joins Abyssius' ranks and vows to help him track down his old master. The future of the Sith order rests on the new Darth's shoulders.

The newly christened Darth Abyssius eventually learns his old master has traveled to the remote ice shelves of Belsavis, preparing to secretly start a new empire. Abyssius and his crew land on the frozen planet and begin their frantic search.

*Over the next year, Brugus settles into a daily training regime. Every day, he would wake up and meditate on the dark side. The next few hours, he would read ancient sith texts. The final part of the day, he would practice various force techniques and blade movements. Today, Ramage tells Brugus phase I of his training is over.*

"Apprentice, the time has come for you to construct you first lightsaber. You have proven yourself to be my most powerful apprentice ever. Never did I expect such rapid progress."

Brugus, just finishing his mediation, replied "master, I'm ready to build my own lightsaber, but I want to know what happened to your other apprentice, or apprentices."

Ramage walked over and began "my first apprentice was my nephew. He was born on Tatooine, and wasn't suited for life there. After his parents were killed by sand people, I decided to take him in. He was always confident in his abilities. Over time, he became arrogant, and tried to kill me before his time."

Brugus, somewhat distraught, asked "so...did you end up killing him?"

Ramage continued "He actually lured me into a trap right here on Voss, in the nightmare lands. He had already placed the beasts there under his control. He planned it all out. I became surrounded by beasts as my apprentice boldly declared "today, I triumph over you, Ramage."

I drew my two lightsabers out and struck the first beast down. I then spun my blades around to confuse the beasts. I jumped outside of the circle and cut my way through the monsters. The exact details were a bit blurry. My apprentice sensed his great plan was failing. He attempted to surprise me from behind. I was well attuned to his tactics. I threw the final beast into the way. After the final beast was slain, we circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. My apprentice was a promising swordsman, but his lack of experience was obvious. He attempted to use the aggressive Shien form against me. I countered with the acrobatic Juyo form. After about 5 minutes of exchanging strikes, his fatigue began to show. After a huge gap in his defense open, I broke his lightsaber hilt, and kicked him off the edge of the ravine."

Brugus was intrigued."So then what about your second apprentice?"

Ramage said "my second apprentice I trained with on the Dxun moon. He was well trained in the secrets of the dark side. He was unfortunately unwilling to kill me and take an apprentice. He despised the rule of two." He believed we should disavow Bane and establish a new sith empire, similar to the one Darth Malgus proposed thousands of years go." I eventually excised him, telling him he was to forever live a life of shame."

Brugus replied "I understand Bane's motivation for establishing the rule of two, but when the sith rule the galaxy, they will no doubt disavow Bane. The rule only works if the master is all powerful. There has never been a Jedi or Sith like that."

Ramage paused. He sat down and faced his apprentice. "You haven't heard of the emperor who almost became invincible. Legend has it, he was able to control various entities which were harbingers of death. He had lived for over 3,000 years, transferring his consciousness through multiple vessels. Unable to fully control his power, he decided to slumber and wait for 'equilibrium day.' The day the force pits the strongest jedi who ever lived against the strongest sith who ever lived. After that, the force will balance, before the cycle begins anew."

Brugus rolled his eyes and said "I'm sorry master, but that is beyond astronomically unlikely. I don't buy that."

Ramage laughed and said "you are already wiser than any jedi. Come, let's discuss your lightsaber."

The two walk outside of Ramage's home into the plains. Ramage says "you already know the various paths sith have chosen throughout history, what path will you take?"

Brugus replied "I want to learn the secrets of the dark side, but I want to learn the double-blades as well."

Ramage looked at him and said "ah, so the ways of the old sith assassins appeal to you. Remember, the double-blade is hard to master, but if you succeed, you will become truly deadly."

Brugus, in an eager tone responded "so how exactly would I construct a double-bladed lightsaber? Come to think of it, I cannot even construct a single hilt."

Ramage said "you will need a red color crystal, various mechanical hilt components, an emitter, and a few other pieces. You may find them throughout the junkyard outside of the old Voss-Ka."

Brugus sets out for the old capital. Upon arrival, he notices the size of the scrappile towering over him. He knows his best chance is to feel how the force reacts to various objects. After a few minutes, he locates a color crystal and pulls it out of the rubble with a basic force pull. He repeats the process to find the other components.

Brugus decides to surprise his master by constructing the weapon himself. He finds it surprisingly more simple than expected. Within minutes, both glowing red blades portrude from either end of the hilt. Overcome with pride, he heads back to his master in the outskirts.

Upon arriving, he yells "master, look at this!" Brugus proceeds to show his master a fully functional lightsaber.

Ramage folds his arms and says "you didn't add any augmentation crystals. Your design is...primitive and ordinary. Ultimately, all that matters is that it functions."

Brugus, more eager than ever, says "teach me how to use this deadly weapon."

Ramage says "I will show you the Shii-Cho form. This form is effective against many opponents, and no weapon is better suited for that than the double-blade. I will eventually teach you the Soresu form, which emphasizes defense and properly timed counterattacks. It would take too long for you to learn more. You should focus on your force techniques as well.

Ramage draws out his lightsaber, and shows Brugus the starting position of Shii-Cho.

*over the next many months, Brugus spends many days training in Shii-Cho. His friends have settled into life on Voss in a nearby abandoned mansion. Later Brugus learned to incorporate a series of force attacks to aid his offensive strikes from the Shii-Cho form. After two years time, Brugus masters Shii-Cho and Soresu, and prepares for his final trial.

Ramage wakes Brugus early. He says "today is your final trial. I have selected something especially suited to you."

Brugus, half-awake stands up and says "There is no one in the galaxy besides you I can't defeat master."

Ramage changes to an unusually serious tone and says "A lone Jedi has landed on Voss, and he knows about us, and our whereabouts. I sense he is very strong in the light side. You must kill him. If you succeed, you will be dubbed Darth Abyssius, for your wisdom and power knows no limit, and because the Abyss is what started your journey to become Sith."

Brugus felt anxious and tense at the same time. "I'm ready master", he confidently answered.

Brugus hopped onto his speeder. He made no attempt to conceal himself, trying to locate the Jedi. He himself could feel there was another force user present, though he didn't draw power from his emotions, but rather lack thereof. He disembarks at the old Voss-Ka, where he begins meditating on the dark side, hoping to attract the Jedi.

The ruins were a secluded place, so he would be able to quickly determine the nature of anyone who approached him. He hears another speeder in the distance. Brugus stands up, and draws out his lightsaber, but doesn't ignite it yet. The speeder finally arrives. An old man gets off and says "long time, no see Naver."

Brugus, recognizing the man as an even older Banamal says "How did you find me old man? You clearly didn't come to Voss on routine Jedi business."

Banamal ignites his yellow lightsaber and says "I sent myself on this mission. I traveled to many planets, searching for any trace of the sith. I told Uldo there was no dark presence, but I myself wanted to be sure. I told him I will live my last years protecting the galaxy from the outside."

Brugus laughed and said "this is most amusing. Are you here to try and kill me? You know such an effort would be in vain."

Banamal said "your faith in the dark side will be your downfall, and your master's. The galaxy will know true peace in a few days again. I want to be forever remembered as the Jedi who did it."

Brugus, again laughs. "Don't tell me you are jealous of your apprentice! No matter, we didn't come here to talk. I am here to kill you."

Banamal gets himself into position and warns "prepare to die, Sith!"

Brugus draws his double-bladed lightsaber, which greatly surprises Banamal, as he was not prepared against the weapon. He barely avoids a lethal blow by parrying Brugus's first strike. Brugus spins the blade around, and using Shii-Cho tactics, attacks with a series of horizontal slashes with alternating blades. Banamal, still a bit shaken, barely blocks the strikes by holding his lightsaber pointing down.

Banamal readjusts and tries a flurry of diagonal slashes, Brugus effortly parries, and spins his lightsaber around to confuse Banamal. Banamal times a lunge, and stops the blade.

Banamal, in a confident tone says "you cannot defeat me with gimmicks."

Brugus then channels lightning and aims his hand at Banamal. Banamal gets into a defensive position, but that doesnt deter Brugus, who unleashes a powerful series of lightning attacks. He then proceeds to run in circles around Banamal, striking him occasionally. After a few more exchanged blows, Banamal force pushes Brugus to the ground and pauses. He says "you know the republic wants you back. Your old friend Uldo wishes to make amends. Join the light side, and fulfill your destiny as a hero to the republic!"

Brugus paused. He then replied "you are weak old man. Your pathetic attempt at a compromise contradicts your previous pompous attitude."

Brugus's eyes glow purple. He points a finger at Banamal. Just then, Banamal rushes at Brugus, who switches to the Soresu form to better defend himself. Banamal tries a series of techniques to break Brugus's defense, but it proves useless.

Just then a dark red orb appears. Banamal looks at his torso and becomes sick to his stomach. The orb bursts, and Banamal falls on one knee. He sees a purple stream approaching Brugus.

Brugus chuckled and said "this is my special death field. I place a mark with the force onto my target, and after a few seconds, it absorbs their energy to refuel my own stamina and force reserves."

Banamal summons his reserves of strength. Brugus is violently thrown to the ground. Banamal jumps 10 feet in the air, and prepares to impale Brugus from above. Brugus by instinct rolls to the side, and avoids Banamal's lethal strike. Brugus then shoots a small spark of lightning down Banamal's leg, paralyzing him briefly. He then gets behind him, and impales him through the back of the neck.

Brugus, filled with rage, says "I am going to see to it that all the Jedi, especially the Barsen'thor suffer excruciating deaths. When I'm the sith master, I will burn every last republic building to the ground." Banamal, unable to speak, collapses. Brugus senses the life go out of his first Jedi victim.

He returns to his master's lair later that night, but he is nowhere to be found. Instead, another hooded figure wearing a blue mask, only revealing the eyes, approaches.

The figure says in a low voice "greetings disciple of Ramage, I'm here to kill our master."

Brugus was puzzled by what was said. "What do you mean 'our master'? Are you trying to tell me you were one of his disciples?"

The hooded figure said "just call me disciple two. Our master has no reverence for Bane. He wants to escape death, and live forever. His pointless experiments into time travel defend my claim."

Brugus drew his lightsaber and said "I won't let you end his life!"

Disciple two said "ah, but you are ready to become the new master." Ramage has fled, hoping to escape you and the Jedi. He has a secret strike team, which he dispatched to kill your family."

Brugus shakes his head in disbelief. "Are you saying my own master killed my parents, lied to me, and hoped that I failed in my final trial?"

Disciple two said "yes, I am unworthy of becoming the master, but I can tell you how to lure your master out. He has left Voss, and I am not sure where he is headed, but I will aid you.

Brugus replies by saying "what proof do you have, failed apprentice?!"

Disciple two calmly pulls out a holorecording. On the display, a hooded figure wielding a lightsaber strikes down two Twi'lek in cold blood. Then, a second hooded figure approaches and says "you have done well, my new apprentice is honing his skills. Soon, he will be strong enough to be a challenge to you."

There was no mistaking it. That was clearly the voice of Darth Ramage. Brugus was filled with rage. So much so, that Disciple Two felt the air crackle with energy.

Disciple Two said "The truth is, I was once Ramage's apprentice. I was the one in the holorecording. I was told that my targets were a grave threat to the Sith order. As soon as I landed on Voss, Ramage betrayed me. He locked the hanger, and attempted to kill me with some noxious gas. I managed to escape, and some Voss medics treated me. They told me I had been in an accident, but they don't understand the force like I do."

Brugus draws his lightsaber "So, you were the one who killed my parents. I will deal with you after I destroy Ramage. I have a vision for the Sith that my master cannot comprehend. His foolishness will be met with the harshest retribution."

Disciple Two, a bit shaken by the threat, replied "very well, I shall face you in combat when the time is right. For now, I believe our master headed to the planet of Belsavis. It is a frozen planet like Hoth, but has some volcanic activity, giving rise to some small forests. The Republic had a prison there many centuries ago, but there are no records of any Republic presence there since the end of Vitiate's empire."

Brugus withdrew his lightsaber. "Very well, so we set a course for Belsavis."


End file.
